Field library

Fruit Borer

A fat caterpillar that turns from green to brown as it grows, with pale stripes down its side. It bites a neat round hole in the tomato and pushes its head inside to eat the flesh, leaving the rest of its body hanging out. One caterpillar spoils several fruits, because it moves on from one to the next.

How to scout

Look over the fruits on twenty plants taken from different parts of the field and count how many have a round hole near the stalk end, and check the flower buds for tiny caterpillars.